The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death, Laennec's cirrhosis due to alcoholism, was not related to his service and denied the claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a link between the veteran's service and his death from Laennec's cirrhosis caused by alcoholism.
- Claimed conditions
- Laennec's cirrhosis, alcoholism
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 30, 2003
- Citation
- 0318200
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0318200.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for alcoholism as it requires a new opinion to address whether clear and unmistakable evidence demonstrates that the Veteran's alcohol use disorder both pre-existed his active military service and was not aggravated during service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the application to reopen claims for service connection for alcoholism and psychiatric disability, but remanded the matter of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Granted
The Board found that the veteran's Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to the August 2013 rating decision was timely filed, granting the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for sleep apnea and alcoholism, as well as denied an increased disability evaluation for sinusitis.
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